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Definition: Mobitex

(MOBIle TEXt) A low-speed, packet-switched, wireless data network from Mobitex Technology AB, Gothenburg, Sweden (www.mobitex.com). Jointly developed in the early 1980s by Ericsson and Swedish Telecom, Mobitex transmits 8 Kbps in the 400-450 MHz band in Europe and 900 MHz band in North America. First deployed in Sweden in 1986, it was later offered by RAM Mobile Data in the U.K. and U.S.

Mobitex has been used for paging, public transport and safety and various machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. It provided email for the first BlackBerry phones.

A Background of Notable Names in the U.S.
In 1998, BellSouth acquired all interest in RAM Mobile Data U.S. and changed its name to BellSouth Wireless Data. When BellSouth and SBC joined to create Cingular Wireless in 2000, the BellSouth Wireless/Mobitex division became Cingular Interactive. That unit was sold in 2004 to an investment company that changed the name to Velocita Wireless. See Velocita Wireless, DataTAC, CDPD and Ricochet.